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Emmer's First Bill Passes out of U.S. House

April 14, 2016

Press Release

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Tom Emmer’s (MN-06) legislation the Financial Stability Oversight Council Reform Act was his first to pass out of the House of Representatives today with a bipartisan vote of 239-179. The Financial Stability Oversight Council, H.R. 3340, was introduced in July and passed out of the Financial Services Committee in November of last year.

In 2010, under Dodd-Frank, the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) and the Office of Financial Research (OFR) were created. FSOC has the power to designate nonbank financial institutions as “systemically important” which results in greater regulatory burdens on those financial institutions; OFR conducts research on behalf of FSOC. Without this legislation FSOC’s designation process lacks transparency and OFR’s authority to demand information from businesses goes unchecked.

“I am a firm believer in a transparent and accountable government, and if a federal institution is failing to meet these fundamental criteria, Congress needs to fix it,” said Emmer. “Unfortunately, FSOC and OFR currently operate in the shadows, outside of the usual congressional oversight and the democratic process. I cannot stand by while businesses that had nothing to do with the 2008 financial crisis are being unjustly burdened with new regulations that result in Americans paying higher prices for essential financial products like home mortgages, as well as education, auto and business loans.”

“Over the years, Congress has given much of its authority to unelected bureaucrats but this legislation returns the Constitutional ‘power of the purse’ back to Congress,” said Emmer. “Not only will this legislation reduce mandatory spending by $1.3 billion over the next ten years, but it will make FSOC and OFR transparent and accountable to the American people. Subjecting these entities to the congressional appropriations process, enhancing OFR quarterly reporting requirements and allowing Americans to weigh in on OFR rules and regulations gives Congress the tools it needs to provide the proper oversight of FSOC and OFR.”

Congressman Tom Emmer represents Minnesota’s Sixth Congressional District and is a member of the Financial Services Committee.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council Reform Act is H.R. 3340. Click here to read the full text.